Troubleshoot and diagnose Firefox problems

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Most problems with Firefox can be fixed by following the troubleshooting methods described below. Try these steps in order. If one doesn't work, move on to the next one. If you need extra help with any of this, we have a community of volunteers standing by.

1. Restart your computer

Sometimes problems can be fixed by simply restarting your computer and then starting Firefox again.

2. Clear your cookies and cache

Many problems with loading web pages can be resolved by clearing Firefox's cookies and cache:

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button, go over to the History menu and select Clear Recent History....On the menu bar, click on the Tools menu, and select Clear Recent History....At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Tools menu, and select Clear Recent History....

In the Time Range to clear: drop-down, select Everything.

Click the arrow next to Details to display the list of items that can be cleared.

Select both Cookies and Cache.

Click Clear Now.

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button, go over to the History menu and select Clear Recent History....On the menu bar, click on the History menu, and select Clear Recent History....At the top of the Firefox window, click on the History menu, and select Clear Recent History....

In the Time Range to clear: drop-down, select Everything.

Click the arrow next to Details to display the list of items that can be cleared.

3. Restart Firefox in Safe Mode

Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that disables all extensions, uses the default theme, turns off hardware acceleration, and uses default toolbar settings and controls, among other things. To start Firefox in Safe Mode:

At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, go over to the Help menuOn the menu bar, click the Help menuAt the top of the Firefox window, click the Help menu and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.... Firefox will start up with the Firefox Safe Mode dialog.

Note: You can also start Firefox in Safe Mode by holding down the shift key while starting Firefox.holding down the option key while starting Firefox.quitting Firefox and then going to your Terminal and running: firefox -safe-modeYou may need to specify the Firefox installation path (e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)

Click the menu button
, click help
and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.... Firefox will start up with the Firefox Safe Mode dialog.

Note: You can also start Firefox in Safe Mode by holding down the shift key while starting Firefox.holding down the option key while starting Firefox.quitting Firefox and then going to your Terminal and running: firefox -safe-modeYou may need to specify the Firefox installation path (e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)

4. Troubleshoot your plugins

Sometimes plugins for Firefox (such as Adobe Reader, Flash, Java, QuickTime, RealPlayer, and Windows Media Player) can cause problems that may be fixed in the latest version. To check to see if you have the latest versions of all your plugins, go to our Plugin Check page. If any of your plugins are out of date, click Update and follow the instructions for updating that plugin. After you've updated all of your plugins, restart Firefox:

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button and then select ExitAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and then select ExitOn the menu bar, click on the Firefox menu and select Quit FirefoxAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and select Quit

Click the menu button
and then click ExitQuit

then start Firefox again. If the problem still happens, you can disable all of your plugins to see if one of them is the cause:

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox buttonOn the menu bar, click on the Tools menuAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the Tools menu, and then click Add-ons. The Add-ons Manager tab will open.Click the menu button
and choose Add-ons. The Add-ons Manager tab will open.

In the Add-ons Manager tab, select the Plugins panel.

Click each plugin in the list and then click Disable.

Check whether your problem happens when you have all plugins disabled.

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox buttonOn the menu bar, click on the Tools menuAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the Tools menu, and then click Add-ons. The Add-ons Manager tab will open.Click the menu button
and choose Add-ons. The Add-ons Manager tab will open.

In the Add-ons Manager tab, select the Plugins panel.

Click each plugin in the list and then select Never Activate in its drop-down menu.

Check whether your problem happens when you have all plugins disabled.

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button and then select ExitAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and then select ExitOn the menu bar, click on the Firefox menu and select Quit FirefoxAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and select Quit

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button and then select ExitAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and then select ExitOn the menu bar, click on the Firefox menu and select Quit FirefoxAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and select Quit

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button and then select ExitAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and then select ExitOn the menu bar, click on the Firefox menu and select Quit FirefoxAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and select Quit

Click the menu button
and then click ExitQuit

Uninstall Firefox - If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux for details. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory to uninstall Firefox.

Now start Firefox and check to see if your problem has been fixed. If it has, you can reinstall the extensions and themes you verified (in part 3 above) were not causing problems. If your problem hasn't been fixed continue with the next troubleshooting method.

6. Reset Firefox

The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its default state while saving your essential information.

Note: When using the refresh feature, your bookmarks, browsing history, open tabs, windows, passwords, cookies and web form auto-fill information will be saved. However, your extensions and themes will be removed and your preferences will be reset.When using the reset feature, your bookmarks, browsing history, open tabs, windows, passwords, cookies and web form auto-fill information will be saved. However, your extensions and themes will be removed and your preferences will be reset.When using the reset feature, your bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, cookies and web form auto-fill information will be saved. However, your extensions and themes will be removed; open tabs, windows and tab groups will not be saved; and your preferences will be reset.Learn more.

At the top of the Firefox window, click the Help menu and select Troubleshooting Information.At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, go over to the Help sub-menu and select Troubleshooting Information.On the menu bar, click the Help menu and select Troubleshooting Information.

If you're unable to access the Help menu, type about:support in your address bar to bring up the Troubleshooting Information page.

Click the Reset Firefox… button in the upper-right corner of the Troubleshooting Information page.

To continue, click Reset Firefox in the confirmation window that opens.To continue, click Reset Firefox in the confirmation sheet that slides down.

Firefox will close and be reset. When it's done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click Finish and Firefox will open.Firefox will close and be reset. When it's done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click Done and Firefox will open.

Click the menu button
and then click help
.

From the Help menu choose Troubleshooting Information.

If you're unable to access the Help menu, type about:support in your address bar to bring up the Troubleshooting Information page.

Click the Reset Firefox… button in the upper-right corner of the Troubleshooting Information page.

To continue, click Reset Firefox in the confirmation window that opens.

Firefox will close and be reset. When it's done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click Finish and Firefox will open.

Click this Refresh Firefox button directly, if you are viewing this page in Firefox (it won't work if you are using a different browser). You will also find a Refresh button on the top right corner of the Firefox about:supportTroubleshooting Information page.

To continue, click Refresh Firefox in the confirmation window that opens.

Firefox will close to refresh itself. When finished, a window will list your imported information. Click Finish and Firefox will open.

6. Refresh Firefox

The Refresh Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its default state while saving your essential information.

Note: When using the refresh feature, your bookmarks, browsing history, open tabs, windows, passwords, cookies and web form auto-fill information will be saved. However, your extensions and themes will be removed and your preferences will be reset.When using the reset feature, your bookmarks, browsing history, open tabs, windows, passwords, cookies and web form auto-fill information will be saved. However, your extensions and themes will be removed and your preferences will be reset.When using the reset feature, your bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, cookies and web form auto-fill information will be saved. However, your extensions and themes will be removed; open tabs, windows and tab groups will not be saved; and your preferences will be reset.Learn more.

At the top of the Firefox window, click the Help menu and select Troubleshooting Information.At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, go over to the Help sub-menu and select Troubleshooting Information.On the menu bar, click the Help menu and select Troubleshooting Information.

If you're unable to access the Help menu, type about:support in your address bar to bring up the Troubleshooting Information page.

Click the Reset Firefox… button in the upper-right corner of the Troubleshooting Information page.

To continue, click Reset Firefox in the confirmation window that opens.To continue, click Reset Firefox in the confirmation sheet that slides down.

Firefox will close and be reset. When it's done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click Finish and Firefox will open.Firefox will close and be reset. When it's done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click Done and Firefox will open.

Click the menu button
and then click help
.

From the Help menu choose Troubleshooting Information.

If you're unable to access the Help menu, type about:support in your address bar to bring up the Troubleshooting Information page.

Click the Reset Firefox… button in the upper-right corner of the Troubleshooting Information page.

To continue, click Reset Firefox in the confirmation window that opens.

Firefox will close and be reset. When it's done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click Finish and Firefox will open.

Click this Refresh Firefox button directly, if you are viewing this page in Firefox (it won't work if you are using a different browser). You will also find a Refresh button on the top right corner of the Firefox about:supportTroubleshooting Information page.

To continue, click Refresh Firefox in the confirmation window that opens.

Firefox will close to refresh itself. When finished, a window will list your imported information. Click Finish and Firefox will open.

Other solutions

If you've tried all of these troubleshooting methods and you're still having problems the issue may be with other software or hardware.

This section does not contain step-by-step instructions. For more information on any of these solutions, please check the related documentation.

Check for conflicts with your Internet security software

Some Internet security software (including antivirus, antispyware, and firewall programs) can cause problems with Firefox including blocking it from opening websites, crashes, and more. Often you can open the program's settings, remove Firefox from its list of allowed or trusted programs and it will be re-detected and things should start working again. If your program is listed at the Configure firewalls so that Firefox can access the Internet article, you can get specific instructions for how to properly reconfigure it.

Scan your system for viruses and spyware

Periodically, you should scan your system for viruses, spyware, or other malware. These free malware removal tools are often useful: